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An unprecedented, definitive look at the school’s typography and print design, from its early expressive tendencies to the functional modernism for which it is famed todayThe Bauhaus looms large as one of the most influential legacies in 20th-century graphic design. Known for its bold sans-serif typefaces, crisp asymmetrical grids and clean use of negative space, the school emerged as the forebearer of a new look—one that seized the tools of mass production in the creation of a radical new art. Today, just over 100 years after the Bauhaus’s opening in 1919, the school’s visual hallmarks have come to define modernity as it appears on the printed page.The official catalog for Letterform Archive’s inaugural gallery exhibition, Bauhaus Typography at 100 explores the school’s legacy in graphic and typographic design through artifacts of its own making—its books, magazines, course materials, product catalogs, stationery, promotional fliers and other ephemera.From the book’s beautifully designed pages, readers learn of typographic masters László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer and Joost Schmidt, who channeled Constructivism’s geometric forms and optimism for industry into printed vehicles for the school’s teachings. Here is where Bauhaus typography—its rejection of serifs and capitals, embrace of experimental alphabets, insistence on universal clarity, and innovation in layering and hierarchy—took its distinctive shape.The catalog also shines light on the Bauhaus’s lesser-known early forays into expressive lettering and illustration, also tracing the school’s immediate impact on seminal design movements such as the New Typography and, of course, on design practitioners working today. Lavishly illustrated, carefully researched and written, and accompanied by an in-depth introduction from noted Bauhaus expert, author and curator Ellen Lupton, Bauhaus Typography at 100 is a must-have for any fan of modern design.

An elegant postcard set highlighting the groundbreaking Vienna Secession design journal Die FlächeIn the first decade of the 20th century, Vienna's leading modernists and their students developed a bold graphic style that sparkled with the spirit of a new age. Debuting their prints and posters in a periodical they called Die Fläche (German for "The Surface"), graphic artists of the Secession directed design away from older Art Nouveau forms and toward bold experiments with flat colors, elementary shapes and expressive lettering.This set of 40 postcards features 20 favorites from Die Fläche, including famed placards for Vienna Secession art exhibitions, works by members of the Wiener Werkstätte arts and crafts collective and prints from the 1908 Kunstschau, a landmark exhibition organized by Gustav Klimt. Humorous and ethereal designs mix with exquisitely abstract depictions of Vienna as a fashionable modern metropolis.Pioneering women artists such as Hilde Exner, Emma Schlangenhausen and Valerie Petter-Zeis stand out among the list of contributors, reflecting their important roles in shaping visual culture in the city. As in Die Fläche, artwork by Koloman Moser, Alfred Roller and other founders of the Secession appear side-by-side with pieces by unsung luminaries such as Max Benirschke and Anton Kling.With faithful reproductions printed on matte cardstock and presented in a handsome box adorned with metallic ink, Secession Style offers a unique collection of mailable artwork from a celebrated modern art movement, making it an attractive gift for lovers of art and design.

An immersive look inside 12 colorful alphabet albums used by 19th- and early 20th-century French sign painters Beginning in the 19th century, sign painters adorned the streets and storefronts of French cities with eye-catching letters in styles ranging from the elegant to the eccentric. Large chromolithographic portfolios supplied these artisans with an array of dazzling model alphabets for use as inspiration, teaching aids and shows of technical skill. Lettres Décoratives offers a definitive collection of plates from these portfolios originally published from the mid-1800s through the 1930s.More than 150 large-scale reproductions of stunning alphabets, most reproduced for the first time ever, provide a wealth of inspiration and insight into sign painting styles and techniques. An extensively researched historical essay by expert sign painter and author Morgane Côme tells the fascinating story of French sign painting and explores the significance of its chromolithographic alphabet albums. Sumptuously designed for Letterform Archive by the French studio Violaine & Jérémy, the book features an impressive format (useful for aspiring sign painters) and original cover art. Complete with a selection of rarely seen historical photography of shop signs in 19th-century Paris, this volume constructs a rich panorama of the age of la peinture en lettres.

“A book to spend a year with … Dwiggins did more to promote, diversify, and integrate the graphic, typographic, and printing-arts disciplines than anyone of his generation.” —Steven Heller, design historianOften credited with inventing the term “graphic design,” W.A. Dwiggins was a quintessential maker—fabricating his own tools and experimenting with design in areas as wide-ranging as stamps, currency, books, kites, marionettes, theatrical sets and lighting. While he began his career in advertising, Dwiggins became a book designer. He also created several typefaces including Electra and Caledonia, which are still used in publishing today. More than any of his contemporaries, Dwiggins united the full range of applied arts into a single profession: designer. Despite this feat, a thorough study of this revolutionary figure has never been published widely in the trade—until now.At nearly 500 pages and with over 1,000 color illustrations, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design offers an engaging overview of the designer’s wide-ranging creative output and lasting impact on the graphic arts. Filled with colorful book covers and intricate stencil designs, W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design is a worthy testament to Dwiggins’ consistent innovation. Designer and author Bruce Kennett’s careful research, warm prose and inclusion of personal accounts from Dwiggins’ friends portray not only a brilliant designer but a truly likable character.W.A. Dwiggins (1880–1956) studied printing and typography under Frederic Goudy in Chicago. He designed four widely used Linotype faces: Caledonia, Eldorado, Electra and Metro. As a book designer for Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., he designed 329 books, of which 17 were honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

A powerful new exploration of the uses of lettering, type and design to amplify resistance and inspire change—from 19th-century antislavery broadsides to the “Silence = Death” graphics of the AIDS epidemic and the handmade signs of the Black Lives Matter movementOrganized into chapters that explore the many ways to express dissent (RESIST!, VOTE!, STRIKE!, TEACH! and LOVE!), Strikethrough presents more than 120 signs, posters, publications and ephemera in vivid imagery and incisive prose. From the colorful affiches of the Paris ’68 uprising to Memphis strike workers’ placards to the Black Panthers’ newspaper, this generously illustrated volume showcases the role of graphic design in a wide range of protest movements in the United States and abroad. Including selections from artists and art collectives such as Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls and Fierce Pussy, this book provides a broad and critical survey of the typographics of activism. Strikethrough also features 10 profiles on the designers behind the graphics—including Corita Kent, Emory Douglas and Ben Shahn—and a custom display typeface based on historical protest graphics by Tré Seals, plus an introduction by activist and design scholar Colette Gaiter and an essay on type by Stephen Coles.Charting a typographic chant of resistance that spans more than 150 years, Strikethrough curators Silas Munro and Stephen Coles reveal how the message makes its way to the masses via marker, screen print, spray paint, collage and both physical and digital type, and how it calls on us all to craft our own demands for social change.Artists and designers include: Atelier Populaire, See Red Women’s Workshop, Carlos Cortez, Emory Douglas, fierce pussy, Ganzeer, Milton Glaser, Guerrilla Girls, Jenny Holzer, Corita Kent, Aaron Douglas, Art Workers’ Coalition, OSPAAAL, Tibor Kalman, Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Herb Lubalin, Phase 2, Favianna Rodriguez, Ward Schumaker, Ben Shahn and Wes Wilson.

A landmark of graphic modernism, the Vienna Secession’s magazine is brought to life in a complete facsimile reprint with new essays and translationsThe brainchild of Koloman Moser, Alfred Roller, Josef Hoffmann, Bertold Loffler and others—the leading graphic artists of the Vienna Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte—Die Fläche (German for The Surface) laid out an extraordinary group vision for design through adventurous work by these designer-professors and more than 100 of their students. Packed with bold ideas for posters, advertisements, book covers, woodcut prints and much more, the result is an inexhaustibly rich sourcebook of graphic forms, modern ideas and technical experiments, all reflecting a reorientation in design practice and teaching that would resonate around the world.This full-size facsimile of all 14 issues of Die Fläche lets readers experience this rare gem as it was meant to be seen, while new essays and translations explore its significance.Die Fläche is the first volume in Letterform Archive’s facsimile series, which presents landmarks of print and design history with exacting reproductions and new essays that provide rich context and fresh insights.

A visual autobiography from the lettering legend behind iconic artwork for Kiss, Disney, the Knicks and many moreIn this vivid and humorous monograph-meets-memoir, Los Angeles–based lettering supremo Michael Doret shares his top-secret tricks for making mere words into iconic words-as-images for clients such as Disney, Pixar, Time, Kiss, the Knicks and more. With more than 700 images, Alphabet City traces Doret’s influences from 1950s Brooklyn to 2000s LA, showcasing his clever logo, signage and poster projects along the way. It also presents and preserves the pre-digital process of custom lettering—from initial pencil sketches to printer mechanicals to final art (plus some spurned client proposals for good measure!).With original photo tutorials that teach all the classic lettering tricks, a foreword by type aficionado Nick Sherman and a freshly commissioned cover by Doret himself, Alphabet City offers a dose of welcome nostalgia—and endless inspiration—for letterform lovers of any generation.

A revelatory, beautifully produced compendium of the influential Japanese commercial design journal, with posters, billboards, shop window displays and moreFrom 1928 to 1930, Tokyo publisher Ars issued The Complete Commercial Artist: a fully illustrated journal of commercial design for both commercial retail spaces and print design. Featuring countless original designs, its 24 volumes were dedicated to topics ranging from posters, packaging, flyers, page layout and typography to neon signage, billboards and shop window displays. Under the guidance of lead editor and writer Hamada Masuji, a passionate advocate for commercial design, the publication became the most important—and visually dazzling—document of Japanese design in its time.This generous volume from Letterform Archive Books shares hundreds of exuberant and whimsical pages from all 24 volumes of the now-rare publication. An extensive historical essay and volume-by-volume walk-throughs by art historian Gennifer Weisenfeld introduce readers to the magazine's creators and offer analyses of their use of illustration, photography, typography and lettering, highlighting both Japanese and European influences as new forms of media sparked a global dialogue.Presented for the first time to an English audience, The Complete Commercial Artist: Making Modern Design in Japan 1928–1930 takes readers on an eye-opening tour of interwar Japan's vibrant visual culture.

Typographic treats in the form of perforated pull-out postcards including works by design giants Saul Bass, Seymour Chwast and Takenobu IgarashiSan Francisco museum Letterform Archive boasts a curated collection of over 100,000 items related to lettering, typography, calligraphy and graphic design that spans the history of the written and printed word. Letter Love shares the collection with a full alphabet sourced from across its holdings, plus 10 numerals and four punctuation marks. Each postcard features a scene-stealing character by design favorites including Saul Bass, Seymour Chwast, Hansje van Halem, Imre Reiner, Jean Midolle, Takenobu Igarashi and Hermann Zapf. Printed with metallic ink and presented in a unique perforated booklet, the postcards tear off to reveal an illustrated catalog that shares reproductions and details about the art. Both delightful and practical, Letter Love makes an ideal gift for design and lettering enthusiasts.Artists and designers include: Vincent de Boer, Armin Haab, Peter Malutzki, Hans Donner, Sylvia Trenker, Julien Priez, Angel de Cora, Tauba Auerbach, Maurice Dufrène, Tezzo Suzuki, Kuwayama Yasaburo, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, James Edmondson, Ross F. George, Roger Excoffon.

A stationery set for fans of the beloved San Francisco printer San Francisco–based printer Jack Stauffacher’s (1920–2017) bold experiments in letterpress expanded the ideas of wood type’s formal possibilities. Born in San Mateo, California, Stauffacher began his study of printing at the age of 16 and went on to design and print outstanding books for 80 years. He was the owner and operator of Greenwood Press, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. After receiving a box of discarded wood type in 1966, Stauffacher began playing with the mismatched letterforms as a break from his daily work. His resulting typographic experiments, often featuring bold layers of letters in black, bright blue or red, are a testament to type’s more expressive capabilities. Stauffacher’s refined yet graphic sensibility brought him acclaim in the worlds of both traditional fine printing and modern art. Examples of his wood and metal type designs can be found in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This set of notecards and envelopes, each pair unique, displays Stauffacher’s abstract yet exquisite treatments of typography.

Celebrating the storied career of a beloved letterpress printer whose posters spread messages of racial justiceDetroit-based letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. is celebrated for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked posters made for the masses. Citizen Printer tells Kennedy’s inspiring story and contextualizes his important work—and offers readers tools for lifting their voices, too. A vital monograph on a trailblazing contemporary Black artist, Citizen Printer features 800 reproductions representing the breadth of Kennedy’s posters and prints, plus original portraiture of the artist at work, a powerful artist statement and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon, all presented in a dynamic type-forward design from American Institute of Graphic Arts medalist Gail Anderson and Joe Newton.Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. (born 1948) was working a corporate job for AT&T when, at the age of 40, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and teaching at Indiana University. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a communal letterpress center in Detroit. Borrowing words from social justice heroes Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and others, Kennedy layers bold statements on race, capitalism, history and politics in exuberant, colorful and one-of-a-kind posters. Kennedy has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine and the Economist, and his work has been exhibited by the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and other institutions through the US. He was the subject of a 2012 feature-length documentary, Proceed and Be Bold!

Two sets of 20 unique letterpress postcards featuring quotes by iconic Black women, from Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, from Harriet Tubman to Nina SimoneThis freshly commissioned set of postcards from the Detroit-based letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. (born 1950) highlights the voices of women of color in the Black arts and social justice movements, including Ida B. Wells, Zora Neale Hurston, Pauli Murray, Lucy Parsons and others. Sista Said features 40 postcards with 20 inspiring quotes in a keepsake box.Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. (born 1948) was working a corporate job for AT&T when, at the age of 40, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and teaching at Indiana University. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a communal letterpress center in Detroit. Borrowing words from social justice heroes Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and others, Kennedy layers bold statements on race, capitalism, history and politics in exuberant, colorful and one-of-a-kind posters. Kennedy has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine and the Economist, and his work has been exhibited by the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and other institutions throughout the US. He was the subject of a 2012 feature-length documentary, Proceed and Be Bold!

A graphic design masterpiece held in museum collections worldwide, now recreated in full facsimileWidely regarded as the most important Dutch designer of the last century, Piet Zwart helped rewrite the rules of modern typography. An autodidactic student of typography and printing, he incorporated elements of fine art and architecture into his graphic design. He often referred to himself as a “typotect”: part typographer, part architect. His best-known work, an 80-page catalog for the electrical cable manufacturer Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft (NKF), is a remarkable case study in visual communication, combining razor-sharp photos, playful type compositions, expressive montages and bold fields of color to transform the humble cable into a subject for experimental graphic design.Received in avant-garde circles as a model of modernist New Typography, the catalog remains a sought-after touchstone of art and design history. This first-ever facsimile of Zwart’s NKF catalog reproduces the complete book with exacting details and in its original format. An accompanying critical supplement includes fascinating essays by design scholars Philip B. Meggs and Paul Stirton, a rich selection of rarely seen projects from Zwart’s decade-long relationship with NKF and a translation of Zwart’s original manifesto.Piet Zwart (1885–1977) originally trained as an architect at the National School of Applied Arts in Amsterdam. He incorporated aspects of Constructivism and De Stijl into his typographic work for the Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft and the Dutch postal service. In 2000 he was posthumously awarded “Designer of the Century” by the Association of Dutch Designers.

Lucian Bernhard (1883–1972) was a luminary of 20th-century graphic design and typography in Germany and the US, known especially for his advertising work and posters. This volume gathers an exquisite selection of ephemera from Bernhard’s career, now held by the Letterform Archive collection, with a particular focus on his foundry specimens. Slim booklets designed to introduce new typefaces and show off their uses, these specimens offer unparalleled access to type as it was first meant to be seen. This trifold hardcover portfolio contains nine bound-in softcover facsimile booklets of these specimens, plus a single facsimile booklet contained in an interior pocket.

Roger Excoffon (1910–83) was an iconic French designer, painter and philosopher, best known for his typeface designs. This volume celebrates the beloved designer’s oeuvre through a selection of his foundry specimens, which were slim but exquisitely designed booklets published to accompany the introduction of a new typeface. Taken from the impressive collection at Letterform Archive, these rare foundry specimens offer insight into the making and uses of such historic type designs. Type by Roger Excoffon reproduces these specimens as facsimilles bound together in a trifold hardcover portfolio and includes an additional interior pocket housing smaller booklets.

Aldo Novarese (1920–95) is widely considered to be one of the most influential Italian type designers of the 20th century, best known for his work with the Nebiolo Foundry in Turin. This volume gathers a selection of his foundry specimens—exquisite booklets designed to introduce new typefaces and show off their uses—from the dazzling Letterform Archive collection. Offering unparalleled access to type as it was first meant to be seen, these highly collectible specimens are reproduced here in facsimile form and bound into a trifold hardcover portfolio with an inside pocket containing smaller booklets.

A 1,500-page compendium containing nearly five decades of remarkable print ephemera from a trailblazing digital type foundryEmigre is a graphic design and digital type foundry based in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1985 by the husband-and-wife team Rudy VanderLans and Zuzana Licko, it was one of the first independent digital type foundries to explore the new design possibilities offered by the MacIntosh computer. It is also known for its legendary design magazine, Emigre, which was a quarterly magazine published between 1984 and 2005.To announce each of its new typeface releases, Emigre published small booklets displaying the virtues of its fonts and revealing the processes used to design them. More than simple sales tools, these type specimens were enjoyed as much for their inventive contents and layouts as for their innovative typeface designs. In 2016, Emigre published the first 18 years of these type specimens in a single book, spanning 1986–2004.This volume reissues the popular contents of the 2016 title (now out of print) and picks up where it left off, combining those first 18 years of materials with additional materials from Emigre’s archive, covering 2004 to the present. The result is a massive 1,500-page reference providing a definitive and up-to-date collection of the foundry’s remarkable print ephemera since its inception.

A collection of whimsical holiday cards featuring hand-drawn Santas from the design titan behind the logos for IBM and UPSAmerican graphic designer Paul Rand (1914–96)—a titan of midcentury design—is best known for the logos he created for companies such as IBM, UPS, ABC and many more. In addition to his commercial work, he was a dedicated letter writer. This set reproduces a selection of 24 holiday cards by Paul Rand held by the Letterform Archive collection. Some were made for friends and family, while others were hand-painted as commissions. Taken together, they represent an exciting and unseen facet of Rand’s oeuvre. Now available as a boxed set, you can send these carefully reproduced versions of Rand’s darling notecards to your own loved ones this holiday season.

Twenty charismatic creatures made with playful flourishes by the quills of 17th- and 18th-century calligraphersSourced from Letterform Archive’s collection of historic writing manuals—books in which Europe’s leading scribes showed off their talents—this set of 20 unique notecards with accompanying envelopes delightfully displays hand-drawn animals made with ink and pen. Dogs, cats, bears, elephants, lions, dragonflies, peacocks, swans and more are reproduced in bright hues on an array of colorful backgrounds. These technically masterful and playfully expressive artworks by famed calligraphers such as Jan van de Velde, John Seddon and Joseph Friedrich Leopold make ideal companions for handwritten messages of all kinds. Presented in an elegant foil-stamped box, this set is the perfect gift for all animal-loving pen pals.

Fans of The Complete Commercial Artist will fawn over this postcard set featuring some of the journal’s most appealing designsThis set of 40 postcards features 20 favorite designs from a spectacular sourcebook of Deco-era Japanese design. Launched in the late 1920s, The Complete Commercial Artist (Gendai shogyo bijutsu zenshu) showcased work by Japan’s early design visionaries in 24 volumes discussing posters, window displays, lighted signs and more. The colorful selections featured in this stationery set include a dashing dalmatian and handsome hat rack, as well as designs for radios and pens, adorable cat-shaped arches, geometric character designs and modernist illustrations with jazz performers and bob-haired women prepping for a night on the town. With artwork by Sugiura Hisui, Murayama Tomoyoshi, Hamada Masuji and other leading graphic artists of the era, these retro postcards deliver a pop of mailable moderne in a keepsake box.

An exquisite box set of notecards featuring a charming selection of handmade modular stencil designs from the beloved American typographerIn the late 1920s, graphic designer William Addison Dwiggins (1880–1956) developed a rhythmic and delicate visual language composed of tiny geometric elements. He cut these modular shapes into cellophane stencils and used them to create wonderfully complex illustrations in his book designs, including abstract typographic ornaments, elegant architectural motifs, intricate page borders and delightful all-over patterns. Dwiggins referred to his organic yet graphic vignettes, which he first experimented with in woodblock printing and stamping, as "sprigs, leaves and flowers." Shared in vibrant colorways from a 1928 booklet of paper samples created for S.D. Warren Paper Mill, Dwiggins’ lively graphic embellishments have found a new home in this suite of 20 unique notecards with accompanying envelopes. Historical photographs inside the keepsake box lid give a glimpse of Dwiggins’ handmade tools and his elaborate process.